Two of the leading AI labs are choosing divergent fundraising paths. Anthropic, which developed the Claude family of large language models (LLMs), is planning an initial public offering (IPO) as early as mid-November and could file for it as soon as Friday, according to media reports on Wednesday.
By contrast, OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT, had been planning an IPO in 2026, but has decided to postpone that and is now in talks to hold another private funding round instead. That's a big change for a company that was previously racing toward the public-market finish line.
Here's why Anthropic is still aiming to IPO by the end of the year and why OpenAI decided to wait.
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Anthropic has an open window and its best numbers yet
Anthropic confidentially submitted a draft S-1 to the SEC on June 1, and it was reportedly planning to IPO in October. It held off to show prospective investors its third-quarter financial results first, which it did at an official investor day on Oct. 14.
Revenue reached $16.8 billion in Q3, up from $11.5 billion in Q2 and $4.7 billion in Q1. The AI lab said that it had achieved adjusted profitability in the second consecutive quarter and positive free cash flow. Anthropic also generated $1.70 in revenue per $1 spent on computing power in Q3, indicating a compute margin of more than 40%.
The timing also works out well for Anthropic. Space Exploration Technologies went public in June, so enough time has now passed to build up demand in the market for another high-profile IPO. With OpenAI punting on its IPO for the time being, Anthropic stock can enjoy all the attention.
Why OpenAI is waiting
OpenAI CEO Sam Altman spoke to Fortune in September and provided a few reasons why his company won't IPO in 2026. He said he believes this "would be an ill-advised moment to go public" due to the growing concerns about the risks posed by AI development. He also mentioned OpenAI's split between nonprofit and for-profit governance, explaining that the company may make decisions that run counter shareholders' financial interests. That becomes more complicated for a publicly traded company.
Although both are legitimate reasons to wait, OpenAI hasn't performed as well as Anthropic, based on the financial metrics each has reported recently. Based on their latest funding rounds, Anthropic's valuation surpassed OpenAI's this year, and Anthropic has reached profitability on an adjusted basis, while OpenAI's operating loss widened to $12.3 billion in Q2.
Anthropic also topped it in Q2 revenue ($11.6 billion for Anthropic vs. $6.7 billion for OpenAI). In fairness, OpenAI reports net revenue and claims that Anthropic reports all contracts sold through cloud partners as revenue, so this may not be an apples-to-apples comparison.
For now, OpenAI prefers to raise money privately. It's also aiming to do so quickly, seeking about $30 billion at a valuation of $1.4 trillion before Anthropic goes public, according to Reuters. That plan has some onlookers speculating that OpenAI wants to lock in its next batch of funding before Anthropic's audited financials are available for comparison.
What to watch
The next major event in this saga will be the arrival of Anthropic's public S-1 (possibly this week), which will allow would-be investors to review its audited financials. The market has only gotten snippets of information so far. A full balance sheet and financial statements will provide a much better picture of Anthropic's business. The S-1 needs to be public at least 15 days before Anthropic's roadshow, which is currently expected to start Nov. 9. If the S-1 isn't available by Oct. 25, then the IPO may be delayed again.
OpenAI is still expected to go public in 2027, although Altman wouldn't commit to a year when asked. The timing may also depend on how the Anthropic IPO goes and the amount of enthusiasm the market has for AI stocks next year.
